Overall
- Joplin
- 85.7
Diff +0.2 RPP
Joplin vs McAllen-Edinburg-Mission
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission is 0.2% more expensive than Joplin.
0.2% more expensive
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX is 0.2% more expensive than Joplin, MO-KS on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 85.9 vs 85.7). A $100,000 salary in Joplin buys about the same as $100,206 in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 85.7 (Joplin) vs 85.9 (McAllen-Edinburg-Mission)
- $100k in Joplin ≈ $100,206 purchasing power in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission
- Services drives the gap (-4.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MO:TX 85.7→85.9
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE MO × TX
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Joplin
85.7
Cost Index
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission
85.9
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Joplin, MO-KS and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: McAllen-Edinburg-Mission is 4.7 points lower. But services and goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Joplin to $100,206 in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Joplin
- 94.2
Diff -0.4 RPP
Services
- Joplin
- 85.9
Diff -4.7 RPP
Rents
- Joplin
- 54.0
Diff +1.9 RPP
| Category | Joplin | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 85.7 | 85.9 | +0.2 |
| Goods | 94.2 | 93.8 | -0.4 |
| Services | 85.9 | 81.2 | -4.7 |
| Rents | 54.0 | 55.9 | +1.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Joplin 85.7
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 85.9
Goods
Joplin 94.2
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 93.8
Services
Joplin 85.9
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 81.2
Rents
Joplin 54.0
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 55.9
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Joplin would need to be in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission for the same purchasing power:
| In Joplin | In McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,103 | +$103 |
| $75,000 | $75,155 | +$155 |
| $100,000 | $100,206 | +$206 |
| $150,000 | $150,310 | +$310 |
$ in Joplin = in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (85.7 → 85.9), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is McAllen-Edinburg-Mission more expensive than Joplin?
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission is 0.2% more expensive than Joplin. The overall cost index is 85.9 vs 85.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission equals $100K in Joplin?
A $100,000 salary in Joplin has the same purchasing power as $100,206 in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Joplin and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission?
Rents in Joplin are indexed at 54.0 while McAllen-Edinburg-Mission is at 55.9 (national average = 100). McAllen-Edinburg-Mission has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.